Aquila Scriptor - The Houses Competition Collection
by aimeedaralyon
Summary: COLLECTION. Collection of my The Houses Competition stories (drabbles and one-shots). Includes Dramione, Runa (Rolf and Luna) hinted Wolfstar and hero Hermione Granger.
1. The Skiving Snackbox

**Summary: DRABBLE. Hermione had vowed never to use a Skiving Snackbox, but there was one exception. Written for the Houses Competition round 1: New Beginnings**

House: Eagles

Class: History of Magic

Category: Drabble

Prompt: [Object] Skiving Snackbox.

Words: 852

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**The Skiving Snackbox**

Hermione Granger had hoped to solve it differently, but gradually she realized that she didn't really have a choice. Even though the war had been over for years, her boss still didn't agree with giving her a week off to save a "random muggle kid". Her boss, Mr. Daniels, found her indispensable at work for the final draft of the new law. She had tried persuasion, flattery and even a bribe to say that it would be unpaid vacation but her boss had not caved. Her eyes darted to the bottom-left drawer of her desk, and decided that it was time. The solution was within reach and she never expected to have to resort to these fraudulent tactics. Deliberately she opened her bottom-left drawer, removed a stack of paper and took out the thing she swore to never use. Placing it in front of her on her desk, she studied its appearance. She had received it from George when she had gotten this promotion. Hermione distinctly remembered telling him that she would never use it but George had laughed it off knowingly. It had vanished in her bottom-left drawer and she'd never given it a second look.

Thinking, Hermione had one other option: making a scene, involving the newspapers, knowing that it would shatter her image as hardworking head of DMLE sub-department Magical Creatures. Shaking the thought away, she looked back at the skiving snackbox that was in front of her. It displayed four different options; the Nosebleed Nougat, Fainting Fancies, Fever Fudge and Puking Pastilles. Hermione thought of the best option for her to use without harming her body. But it had to be enough to be believable and give her a week off of work as the medical procedure would take a week to recover. She could remember from her fifth year that when using a Fainting Fancy, you needed to use an accomplice to administer the 'cure' for passing out. While she trusted her assistant Nancy and her dear friend and colleague Susan Bones, she didn't want to bring them in a difficult position either. Nosebleed Nougat was out of the question as the child she was going to save needed all the blood Hermione had. For that same reason she didn't want to try the Fever Fudge, afraid that it would do more damage to her blood than she would be willing to risk. Hermione decided to use the Puking Pastilles as it would help keep people away from her.

It was a Wednesday morning when she decided that it was time. Every Wednesday morning at 10 there was a weekly meeting where all DMLE staff members would be present including her boss. Hermione had repeated for the past few days that she hadn't been feeling well, making sure to sneeze, cough and stumble a bit in front of everybody. When the moment finally arrived, she'd taken the Puking Pastille and quickly eaten the orange half without anyone noticing it. It took a little while before she felt it coming and just when she was about to be addressed, Hermione puked all over the table and sprinted toward the Ladies' room while sounds of shock and disgust sounded farther and farther away. While quickly eating the purple half, she felt better instantly and made sure to remove almost all of her puke from her face. When she re-entered the conference room, everybody became silent and the head of the DMLE sub-department Underaged Wizards and Witches walked over to Hermione and placed her hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"Hermione, why don't you go home for the rest of the week? You have been working very long days and I think you have the flu because you feel warm as well," Susan Bones said loud enough for everyone else to hear.

"Is that alright with you, Mr. Daniels?"

Everyone's eyes in the room shifted to the head of the department expectantly. Hermione's boss looked convinced, nodded and said, "Yes, of course. Get well soon, Hermione."

Susan pointed to Hermione's chin to notify her that she missed a bit of puke while cleaning up. Hermione thanked her and waved off, making sure to look ill all the while.

While flooing home, Hermione smiled to herself and shook her head. A skiving snackbox, who would've thought that would work? She knew that her boss might suspect that she staged the whole bit, but now with a lot of witnesses, he wouldn't dare to claim that 'The Brightest Witch of Her Age' and one-third of the Golden Trio would stoop so low to use those tactics.

Hermione took her pre-packed bag and apparated to the Anthony Nolan Clinic in London.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger, I'm here to donate my stem cells."

"Welcome, Ms. Granger. Thank you for your sacrifice. Was it difficult to get here?" the friendly receptionist asked.

Hermione smiled and shook her head, "Not at all."


	2. Draco Malfoy's Last Scheme

**Summary: ONE-SHOT. Draco Malfoy confesses he was bribed to stop Hermione Granger from finishing the law she was working on. When she doesn't believe his good intentions, he decides to confess why he decided to come clean. Only to be forced to use Slytherin tactics to save his insecure heart. Written for the Houses Competition round 1: New Beginnings.**

House: Eagles

Class: History of Magic

Category: Standard

Prompt: [Speech] "How is it possible that someone as intelligent as (you/Name) can be so unfathomably dense?"

Words: 2497

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**Draco Malfoy's Last Scheme**

"I'll bring those files as soon as they have arrived. Oh, and boss?"

Hermione Granger glanced at her assistant. "Yes, Michael?"

The assistant smiled in a way that made Hermione feel a little uncomfortable. She knew he was going to say something he had been holding off telling her, she could feel it.

"Mr. Draco Malfoy is here to see you."

Ah. That was the thing her assistant didn't want to tell her. It made sense, as the last time her assistant told her Draco Malfoy was waiting outside her office, Hermione had asked loud enough for the entire office to hear; why he had thought it a good idea to let that toerag into her office. Hermione had to buy Michael two Chocolate Frogs to make it up to him and still doubted he was over it. Apparently her assistant found the whole encounter quite traumatising, if Hermione had to go by the hands-off mentality that her assistant displayed with each following encounter with Malfoy. So Hermione made sure to act as relaxed as possible and smiled at her assistant. "I don't have an appointment with him, do I?" she tried.

"No, boss. He said he would wait until you had the time to see him. It would only take a minute."

"Thank you, Michael. Will you let him in, please?"

He nodded and left her office.

When Malfoy entered the room, a smug look graced his aristocratic features. He smoothly slid into the seat across from Hermione's desk and stared at her, seeming intrigued by the witch. It had taken a few years, but Draco Malfoy had become healthier and less pale after the war. He wasn't as thin as a toothpick anymore and he finally had some colour on his pale skin, indicating regular sunlight. His robes fit him perfectly, like they had always done, but maturity had been very kind on him.

Draco Malfoy had even been voted 4th in the 'Top Ten Most Eligible Bachelors' when Harry had married Luna and Ron had proposed to Padma Patil. It was even rumoured that Draco Malfoy might be gay, as he never had publicly announced a girlfriend and often showed up at social gatherings alone but was surrounded by his friends nonetheless. To top off his good looks, he had started a potion-developing enterprise to improve and cure all kinds of predicaments and illnesses, much to the common wizard's favour. Draco had offered a heartfelt apology to the whole school, but to Ron, Harry and Hermione in particular and both boys had accepted. Hermione had taken longer to forgive him but even started to like Malfoy later on. He had made the Wolfsbane Potion available to everyone who suffered from lycanthropy against a fairly reasonable price and was now working on curing dark blood magic.

Only, for some reason when they met in person, he always seemed to piss her off and irritate her in a new way every week. Last week it was using her office as a hide-out for some bachelorette called Astoria Greengrass. The week before that an allergic reaction to some sort of flower and the list goes on. Additionally, he couldn't tell her how he had ended up at her office all these times, he claimed he simply was 'in the area'.

Hermione, who hardly had time for one of his next schemes, sighed at the handsome man across from her desk, not even wanting to ask why he was here now. Both Hermione and Draco were silent as Hermione continued working on her new law proposal, all the while being fully aware of him watching her. It gave her a tingly feeling on her skin and a certain feeling of anticipation, even though neither said a word. It was silent for a few minutes longer when he decided that if she wasn't going to ask, he would tell her himself.

"So I let myself be bribed for 5000 galleons."

Hermione blinked twice and put down her quill. "Excuse me?"

"To stop this new law you're working on from being accepted by the Wizengamot."

Hermione raised her eyebrows and gave Draco a questioning look. "By who?"

"Gemma Farley, she was a prefect when I got sorted into Slytherin."

Hermione realised she accidentally came across that name when she visited Harry and Luna and walked into Harry's home office. There was a list with names of people that were closely watched as they were suspected of starting a secret pureblood-supremacy group. Hermione hadn't tried to look at the names, she had simply remembered seeing that name. Not knowing how to continue she looked back at Malfoy. "Why are you telling me this then?"

Draco looked rather satisfied with himself and smirked. "Because I care about the creatures and thought you might-"

Hermione rolled her eyes at his insincere tone and interjected him mid-sentence, "I don't have time for your games today, Malfoy. I know none of the purebloods like the new law, but it is necessary! It doesn't _only_ protect the house-elves, but the wizards too! And I cannot understand that all those purebloods who think they are _so sophisticated_ don't understand the necessity of this law! How can someone just enslave those house-elves, like monsters? If house-elves love working for us so much, why can't we improve their work circumstances as a token of gratitude? It's truly atrocious that-" she stopped talking, realizing that she was ranting and rested her forehead on her left hand. Whilst closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in and sighed. "I'm not going to get into this with you, Malfoy. I am not interested in playing games with you anymore."

"I'm not here to play games, I'm just telling you so that you can prepare to some opposition in the Wizengamot court because I doubt I'm the only one she bribed and I wouldn't think she'd be too low to blackmail someone into stopping this law. Now, I think you can tell _Auror_ Potter to go arrest her on suspicion of obstruction of justice and whatever he can think of."

"Why do you even care, Malfoy? And don't give me that nonsense about caring for the magical creatures," Hermione bit out harshly.

"How is it possible that someone as intelligent as you can be so unfathomably dense?"

"I find it hard to believe that you're not saying this to rile me up."

"I'm not trying to provoke any sort of reaction, I just wanted to give you a break."

"Don't believe it. Now, can you please leave my office? I'm busy."

"Salazar, Granger! Just accept some help without questioning the intention! Can you just for once try to believe that I'm actually for this law and giving you some information that will help you achieve your goal?"

"Why- Why are you for this new law? You have house-elves enslaved at your huge manor!"

This made Draco's eyes go wide and sit up straight. "Granger, if this is the level of research you're doing, then I'm afraid we're never going to get that law in place." Draco Malfoy sighed and shook his head at her before continuing, "I have never slept one more night in that awful place – I bought a new property. All house-elves that work for me or my mother, who lives in a penthouse apartment in Paris, are paid and do have holidays and breaks in their contract. Blaise, Theo, Pansy, Daphne and Tracy also had contracts made up for their house-elves."

"Okay, so why did you let yourself be bribed? Just because you care for the house-elves' well-being and to get Farley arrested?"

"How is it possible that someone as intelligent as you can be so unfathomably dense?"

"You've said that already." Hermione stated blunt, unapologetic.

Draco Malfoy blinked slowly and seemed truly amused at her remark. "It seemed worth repeating."

"Well? What are you on about?" Hermione demanded.

"I've been in love with you for years. I just never had the guts to say it."

His words came out of his mouth rather clinically and Hermione's reply was instant, "Oh, we both know you don't mean that."

Draco got up from his seat and walked up to Hermione. He leaned against the edge of her desk and took her hand into his. His eyes searched for hers and slowly the room felt hotter. When her eyes found his, he stared into them and said, "Granger, I am in love with you. I admire your hard work, your passion to achieve, your thirst to know more and find out more. This is not a celebrity crush; I have been crushing on you for a while. Why do you think I always show up alone at important events? I don't do second choices."

Hermione replied quicker than Draco had expected, "I honestly thought you were gay. Never for a second occurred to me that you think you are in love with someone."

It was silent for about a minute when his reply sounded slow and measured. "What makes you think I'm not in love with you?"

"The fact that you just silently copied my draft version of the law and hid it in your back pocket 20 seconds ago."

"Shit."

That was the last thing Hermione heard from Malfoy while he hurried out of her office.

Draco Malfoy apparated to Blaise Zabini's manor without announcing his arrival beforehand and Draco knew the risks that would bring. Walking straight to the drinking cabinet, where Blaise stored his extensive alcohol collection, Draco took out the best firewhiskey bottle he saw, accioed a whiskey glass and poured himself a neat one, downed it in one go and poured himself another. With glass in hand, Draco walked over to the door that led to Blaise's bedroom, opened it without looking inside and said, "Blaise, get out here, I need you."

A few curses sounded from Blaise's mouth and a woman's voice laughed a little before asking Blaise, "He is kidding, right?"

The sound of ruffling sheets sounded and Draco envisioned Blaise putting on his pants and ushering his newest trophy to the fireplace. "I'm afraid not, he's a real drama queen. You know how to floo out, yeah?"

"You're not serious," she asked incredulous.

"Dead serious. See you later, sugar."

The bedroom door opened further and Blaise Zabini stepped out whilst putting on his dress shirt and letting it hang open. Blaise immediately knew something was wrong with his best friend, judging by the speed Draco downed his firewhiskey.

Draco poured himself a double firewhiskey and sat down in one of the luxury chairs of the room. Blaise looked at the clock, noticed it was a little past 12 in the afternoon and shrugged before pouring himself a drink as well. He plumped down in a chair opposite of Draco and inspected him closely.

Draco angrily stared at the ceiling after sipping his drink and didn't give Blaise a second glance, nor felt the need to remark the state Blaise was in, as it had almost become a routine for the two men.

Blaise turned to Draco and said, "Let me guess, it has something to do with _her_."

"I don't know who you're talking about," Draco grumbled.

"Can we not do this today? Can you just tell me what happened, so I can tell you that you have acted like a jerk so that I can continue my day?"

Draco didn't reply, which was odd because Draco usually jumped to any opportunity to react dramatically to anything Blaise and Theo said that involved Draco himself. Blaise downed his drink and accioed the bottle to pour himself some more. He also added more to Draco's glass, who had held it out as a cue that he also wanted more.

It was the first time after the war that Blaise actually started to worry for his best friend, as this behaviour was not typical at all. Blaise thought of all the possible causes that involved Hermione Granger because she was the only one who could impact him so badly. Before Blaise could guess, Draco opened his mouth, "I told her I loved her. I just blurted it out. When I realised she had no clue and wasn't going to say it back, I copied the draft of the law. You know, as an excuse so that it would seem that I only said it to distract her while manipulating her work since she knew that Farley bribed me."

Blaise said nothing but nodded to Draco.

"Cookie," Blaise said.

A house-elf appeared in front of Blaise and bowed to his master. "Yes, Master Zabini?"

"Will you please go to Hermione Granger and tell her that she can arrive here in my living room via the floo network?" Cookie nodded and disappeared with a *BANG*.

Draco's face seemed to be frozen in shock when he realised what was about to happen. "I hate you," Draco whispered to Blaise, who seemed delighted.

Blaise didn't reply and smiled at Draco when Hermione Granger stepped out of the fireplace.

"Blaise-" Hermione started but before she could continue, Blaise interjected, "Hermione, I am sorry for my best friend. He is a complete and utter fool. I have been listening to him whine about you since our fourth year, having to hear him go on and on about you and right now I'm too tired to put it delicately, but he is in love with you. He loves you. He only copied the draft of that law because he was afraid that you wouldn't say that you loved him back and he therefore wanted to paint it off as a scheme he was pulling. This man here," Blaise pointed to Draco, who had jumped to his feet when Hermione had entered, "has fought for the weak wizards and creatures ever since the war had stopped because it mattered to _you_. He lobbied for all the laws you've written, tries to cure diseases that are important to you. You have the right to know all of this, but he has a right to know how you feel about him."

Hermione simply said, "I love him."

"What," Draco said, not able to believe what he was hearing.

"I only just realised. I've been thinking about the things I find important in a man, and now I've thought about it, I realised that I cannot find any flaw in you. Well, beside your need for drama and-"

"I got it, I got it," Draco said while raising his hand to silence her.

Draco put down his glass, stepped forward and crashed his lips onto hers while motioning Blaise to go away.

Smiling, Blaise took his glass of firewhiskey and returned to his bedroom. Finally, Draco was finished with his schemes.


	3. That One Question

**Summary: DRABBLE. Sirius is bored out of his mind. James is busy snogging Lily, Peter is boring and Remus is studying. Sirius knows just who he will get to give him attention. Written for the Houses Competition round 2: Teamwork For The Win.**

House: Eagles

Class: History of Magic

Category: Drabble

Prompt: [Setting] Hogwarts Library

Words: 988

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**That One Question**

At the farthest corner in the narrowest section of the entire library, Remus sat working on his Transfiguration homework. The library was nearly empty of students, as almost everyone was relaxing in their respective common rooms or throwing snowballs at each other outside. When Sirius came into Remus' view, Remus shook his head immediately refusing to let Sirius disturb his peace.

"No, Sirius. Whatever it is, no. I don't have time to talk, I need to finish this Transfiguration homework or McGonagall will put me in detention."

"Relax, Moony. I'm here to do some homework too, I wanted to get started on that History of Magic essay."

"Work somewhere else."

"Ahw, Moony, don't be like that. Prongs is off snogging Evans and Wormtail is being chased by a cat. I, for that matter, just needed to be near your great personality."

"Flattery doesn't work on me, Padfoot."

"Oh, maybe that's just me and James then. But please let me stay? I've left my parents and their pure-blood supremacy views so that I could stay friends with you, that has to count for something, right?"

"That was one of your reasons, but alright, you haven't used this excuse in a while, so I'll give in."

"Yes! You won't be disappointed, Moony!"

"I sincerely doubt it."

Sirius took out his History of Magic book and parchment for show, as he had no intention of getting started right now. Browsing through the pages of the History of Magic book, Sirius suddenly found the right conversation starter. He looked at Moony through the corners of his eyes and once back to his book.

"Did you know that the Sorting Hat was actually Godric Gryffindor's?"

"Everyone knows that. What I have been wondering; how does it communicate?"

"Apparently it uses Legilimency to communicate with the wearer," Sirius said, tapping the open page in his book.

"Really? How could I not know this?" Remus asked while nearly yanking the book from Sirius in his enthusiasm. Sirius leaned back, enjoying the view of Remus being perfectly content. Remus nodded to the page he was reading, mumbled some inaudible words and turned the page. "Huh, makes sense." Remus realised that he was distracted and handed Sirius' book back to him. "I need to finish my homework."

"Sure," Sirius said.

Sirius had the decency to wait to start talking again until Remus had written down another full sentence. "Do you ever see yourself get married?"

Remus looked up before replying, "Me. Homework. You. Quiet."

"Ahw, Moony! Please? Just this one question."

Remus sighed, giving in too easily before answering, "I don't think so. Would be too dangerous with me being a werewolf and all."

"You just need the right person who can be with you during the full moon. And besides, I think you would make an excellent partner in the days that are not near the full moon. You'll also be a good care-giver because you're bad as a care-receiver." Sirius wondered.

"I'm not a bad 'care-receiver'. You're just not equipped to take care of me properly!" Remus replied instantly.

"If this is about that tea-incident, I told you I'm sorry! By the way, no one can be a perfect care-giver without any practise. That you are a natural at being nice and care-y doesn't mean that everyone else is."

"Why are we having this discussion then?" Remus asked, not seeing the point in it at all.

"Because you need to know that anybody would be lucky to marry you! Even if you are the worst care-receiver that's ever lived."

"I'm not! I distinctly remember that Quidditch match when James- never mind. I'm just saying, I don't see anyone who loves me so that they want to marry me. And I don't blame them! I'm perfectly happy right now and I have a long time to think about marriage."

"How can you say that?! I love you!" Sirius exclaimed indignant, not caring that they were in the library and risking Madam Pince's shushes. When Sirius realised how his words had sounded offended, he quickly added, "And James, Peter and Lily love you! And your parents!"

Slowly, a smile appeared on Remus' face. "What- What has brought this on? Because James wants to propose to Lily?"

"I just wanted you to know that we all care about you and that when James and Lily get married, nothing is going to change," Sirius said.

Suddenly, it all made sense to Remus. "You're afraid that things will change when we graduate and they will start living together because you had plans to live with James," Remus stated, not needing to ask because he knew that was the case.

"No, I just thought that _you_ might be afraid that things would change." Sirius tried, but failed to convince Remus.

"How about we live together next door from Lily and James?" Remus suggested.

"You'd want to live with me?" Sirius asked.

"Of course, I love you."

Sirius' eyes went wide. "You love me?"

Remus sent Sirius a loving look. "With all my heart," Remus replied solemn and then changed his whole demeanour by dismissively waving his hand. "There's really no reason to make a big deal out of it, everyone knows."

"I didn't!" Sirius replied indignant.

Smiling broad, Remus looked back at his homework in front of him. "Why don't you start making plans about how everything will look and what we need for garden so that you and James can keep on playing Quidditch. That way I can finish my Transfiguration homework."

"Good thinking," Sirius replied, imagining everything he needed to buy.

His thoughts changed from a really cosy room with a huge couch and big fireplace in front of it, to the possibility of unknown people walking past their house. Sirius could imagine it.

"Hey, Moony?"

"Yes?"

"I'll be the guard dog."


	4. Luna's Favourite Pastime

**Summary: ONE-SHOT. Luna meets two lovely unicorns and decides to feed them their croissants. Luckily Rolf isn't mad about it. Written for the Houses Competition round 2: Teamwork For The Win.**

House: Eagles

Class: History of Magic

Category: Standard

Prompt: [Creature] Unicorn

Words: 1455

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**Luna's Favourite Pastime**

Luna awoke with the light coming through the cracks in the curtains. She stretched, got out of bed to put on her bathrobe which proved to be more and more difficult. Whilst walking to the backyard she accioed a croissant with her wand and sat down in the garden chair on her tiny terrace. It was Luna's favourite pastime, enjoying the morning view of her backyard as it was different each morning. It was more of an endless field than a backyard, as everything she could see belonged to her and her boyfriend Rolf Scamander which he had inherited from his grandfather. Their house and land were located in the middle of Cairngorms National Park, Scotland and had a small forest on the right. In the far back Luna had made a lake all by herself and on the left a rocky area which Luna lovingly called the 'Scamander Mountains'. She had plans of putting up a sign with 'Scamander Mountains' on all sides of the rocky area, but Rolf had insisted it would stay free of human footprint as he knew his grandfather would've liked.

One of the favourite aspects of living here was that it was completely quiet, except for the creatures that made sounds which made it even better in Luna´s opinion. There were creatures everywhere and they didn´t storm off when Rolf or Luna would walk to them because all creatures knew they meant no harm. In the backyard there were animals like deer, foxes, birds, beavers, frogs, insects, squirrels and even some hedgehogs but there were also magical creatures, of which some had taken quite a liking towards Luna and Rolf. Luna had tamed the thestrals, befriended the hippogriffs and Rolf had sworn he saw a phoenix once. There were also thousands of billywigs, a few mokes, a few garden gnome families, bowtruckles and some fairies.

Luna tightened her fluffy blue bathrobe a little and rested her feet on another chair. Looking from the Scamander Mountains to the lake her eyes stuck to the forest line. A unicorn had stepped into view about 50 meters away. Luna could barely believe her eyes, a unicorn foal was right behind the adult one! Luna had seen three unicorns in the Forbidden Forest during her time at Hogwarts but never one so young. It had to be under two years old as the unicorn foal was golden in colour as it would turn silver around the age of two. The adult unicorn was breathtakingly white, its horn beautiful bright in the sunlight and the hooves golden. The unicorn made a soft calling sound and the foal rapidly got in closer proximity. When the unicorn noticed Luna watching her, it looked back for a while, assessing if Luna would pose a threat. Luna, who had much experience in interacting with untamed magical creatures, smiled and did nothing but behold the view in front of her. She took a small bite from her croissant, realised that it tasted really sour and putting it on the table. Luna looked back at the creatures at the forest line.

The unicorn, Luna named it 'Candentia' in her head, took a few steps in Luna´s direction, stopped to eat some grass and repeated the same all over again. Every once in a while Candentia called her foal, which Luna named 'Aurum' because of its gold colour, and it came running immediately. Now, Candentia and Aurum were only a few meters away and Luna couldn't help but feel that the whole encounter was already magical. She hoped Rolf wouldn't just wake up and come walking out and so scare them away. Luckily, the house remained quiet and Luna observed the pair with a huge smile on her face.

Now that Candentia was close, Luna noticed that there was a small lumpy mass on the side of its horn and it didn't look healthy at all. The mass was brighter than it was supposed to be and for some reason it looked dirtier too. Already thinking of how to remove the mass, Luna searched her brain for any medical spells she could put to use. She knew she could ask Garrick Ollivander to stop by, he knew a lot about any type of creature that was involved in one way or the other in the art of wand making.

Very carefully Candentia stepped closed and sniffed the croissant from a few meters away. Luna made sure to move very slow to take the croissant and held it out to Candentia. "If you want it, it's alright. My boys make me hate all the food I used to like," Luna spoke in a soft and calm voice whilst tapping on her big round belly.

Aurum now followed his mother but instead of walking towards the croissant Luna was holding out, he walked over to Luna and sniffed the wand in Luna's bathrobe pocket. Candentia slowly started to nibble and Aurum pushed his nose to Luna's bathrobe pocket. Luna tried not to scare the foal away but the young unicorn needed to be careful as Luna's pregnant belly needed to be treated with great care. Luna slowly took out her wand for Aurum to smell to which the young unicorn snorted. "You know, the core of my wand is made from unicorn hair. Maybe that's what you are smelling right now." Aurum called for his mother but meanwhile Candentia had finished the croissant. Candentia neighed for another and Luna smiled, "Alright, alright, but just this once, grass is a lot healthier for you."

Luna flicked her wand in a small gesture and accioed the rest of the croissants. The rest of the hour she continued feeding the unicorns croissants and by then she could softly pet both Candentia and Aurum and talk all she wanted.

When Rolf exited the house and stepped onto the terrace, the unicorns ran away, afraid of the unknown threat. Rolf kissed Luna on the top of her head and smiled broad.

"Absolutely stunning," Rolf's voice sounded impressed. Then he quickly sat down next to Luna and said, "I believe you have made new friends. Sorry that I've scared them off, the one time I'm not looking before stepping outside... It's so interesting that unicorns like women better than men."

"That's alright and yes it is," Luna replied, looking at the unicorns that were now about 50 meters away again.

"I see you've also shared my croissants with them? Did they like it?" Rolf's voice didn't sound reproachful at all, instead he sounded so interested in what had happened that Luna smiled. "Very much so, Candentia couldn't stop."

"Candentia, Latin for radiance and whiteness. Nice job. What about the youngster?" Rolf asked.

"Aurum."

"Gold. Hmm," Rolf nodded approvingly at his dreamy-looking girlfriend.

They were silently looking at the two magical creatures that seemed incredibly beautiful under the rare morning sun when Rolf took her hand.

"Rolf?" Luna asked, pinching his hand.

"Yes?"

"Candentia has a mass on her horn, is there a spell or method to remove it? It doesn't seem healthy."

"I don't know. I'll check in my grandpa's private notes. If I can't find anything I'll floo to Ollivander, he needs to know something."

"Thanks."

"No problem. So croissants are out, huh?"

"Yup, and pumpkin pie is also out."

"Duly noted. Did you feed the thestrals, yet?"

"Not yet, but we can do it together."

"Just the way I like it," Rolf replied, looking at his glowing girlfriend.

Rolf couldn't stop smiling because he couldn't imagine loving someone more than his Luna. He'd prepared for an extensive brunch with Luna's favourite blueberries, a home-made pumpkin pie and fresh peppermint tea, to propose after they had consumed it. But now they were trying to figure out why Candentia had a mass on her horn. Rolf smiled at his memory of when he first planned to propose, he'd taken her to the Arizona desert to look for Frank, his grandfather's friend who just happened to be a thunderbird. At the precise moment he wanted to propose, Luna told him she was pregnant. It didn't feel like the right time to propose then, and he had left it until it felt right. It had felt right for him this week so he had prepared everything to make it special but then the unicorns happened. He was-

Luna's voice took him out of his thoughts, "Rolf, when we get married I want a unicorn-themed wedding, is that alright?"

Rolf smiled from ear-to-ear. He didn't need to make it special. Every day with Luna was special. He was the luckiest man in the whole wide world.


	5. Hogwarts Express Derailed

**Summary: DRABBLE. Padma Patil gets the lead on a story for the Daily Prophet, and it's a big one.** **Written for the Houses Competition round 3: Forgotten Heroes.**

House: Eagles

Class: History of Magic

Category: Drabble

Prompt: [Setting] Daily Prophet Newsroom

Words: 891

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**Hogwarts Express Derailed**

Padma Patil hurriedly entered the Daily Prophet newsroom at Diagon Alley's headquarters. Her boss, the editor-in-chief Barnabas Cuffe, was not in his office and it was imperative that she got the 'go-ahead' right away so the news bulletin could be sent out by owl. She scanned the room and saw many colleagues discussing the latest news in small groups. When they noticed her, a few of them sent her a sour look making it clear they did not approve of her getting the lead on this story, whilst others came up to her to give her more background information about the history of the Hogwarts Express and the King's Cross Station. She gratefully accepted the additional information whilst making sure that she didn't lose her freshly written article in all the paperwork.

"Patil!" her boss's voice called from the entrance of the newsroom.

Padma immediately turned around and marched over to him. He extended his hand to the one piece of parchment that was meant for him. She placed her article it into his waiting hand and slowly the room became quiet, everyone was waiting for her boss's verdict. She reread her article with him, looking over his shoulder.

**THE DAILY PROPHET – EXTRA BULLETIN**

**By Padma Patil**

**WOUNDED AT KING'S CROSS: HOGWARTS EXPRESS DERAILED**

**More than 50 students were injured and brought to St. Mungo's. **

**For reasons that are not yet known, the Hogwarts Express that was coming from Hogwarts to return to King's Cross Station (Platform 9¾), derailed whilst stopping at Platform 9¾. The train, a 4-6-0 Hall Class steam locomotive with no record of prior technical faulty, crashed into the platform causing considerable damage to the platform and the people on it. Through combined forces from bystanders, the train was lifted and moved to Platform 7½ by means of joint casting of the levitation spell. When the doors finally opened, it became evident that some students inside the train were severely injured as one of the non-injured witnesses described a "horrid and bloody scenery." It was reported that Head Boy Edward Lupin initiated transport for wounded students to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries by side-apparation from the gathered 7th years on board the train. Additionally, some 5th and 6th years healed some minor injuries of classmates with Healing Spells and made sure the other students got off the train alright. Aurors were immediately called to the scene and the authorities have completely closed the site off for visitors at this moment. Temporary anti-apparating shields were put up and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (DMLE) spokeswoman Susan Bones asked witnesses to report themselves to the DMLE Witness Room 1. The Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, was not reachable for commentary, neither was the Head of the Auror Office or the Head of the DMLE. However, the Minister will give a press conference within the hour at the DMLE Press Room 2. There are already rumours of this being a possible attack from Novus D.E. (New Death Eater conspiracy group) but this is not yet confirmed. **

**This bulletin will be regularly updated by use of Protean Charm. Don't cast any spells at the bulletin as it will undo the Protean Charm.**

Padma waited patiently for her boss to say something and she noticed that the room was still eerily quiet. He pushed the piece of parchment back into her hands and straightened his big moustache. "Go print it."

Then he turned to Bradley Johnson and motioned him to go to the copy room, "Johnson, go with her and recheck the Protean Charm before sending it off."

"Yes, sir," the young spell worker replied.

Just when Padma and Bradley wanted to leave, one of the most famous article writers stormed into the newsroom. Sir Amorim, no one knew his first name, was out of breath and immediately ran over to the editor-in-chief. "Sir, multiple witnesses gave an independent statement that a person was spotted just before the train crashed."

Waves of shock seemed to move through the brightly-lit room and again everyone waited for the editor-in-chief to give out the orders.

"Print this, Patil!" he tapped the piece of parchment in her hands and continued, "In five minutes we will have an update ready mentioning the spotted person."

"Yes, sir!" Padma said and hurriedly left to the copy room and Johnson was right behind her.

Barnabas Cuffe turned to the rest of the people in the room. "Lancaster, Wellington, Merton and Enfield, I want these witnesses named and thoroughly checked, ask Amorim for details. Acker and Cornish I want questions made for the press conference. Winthrop and Winthrop, you both will look deeper into the history of a crashed train running on magic. Hackney, Jones and Skeeter, I want you to see if you can enter the area and see if you can find traces of Dark Magic or anything else that can be a sign for purposely derailing the train, be careful. The rest will monitor all incoming messages and rumours. We need to get this information out there fast! As of now, all other stories are on hold. Manning, I want you in my office!"

Hurriedly, everyone started the work at hand, disappearing wherever they needed to. The editor-in-chief and Manning stalked out of the newsroom and closed the door behind them.


	6. The Cerberus Project

**Summary: ONE-SHOT. Cornelius Fudge tried to protect Harry and Dumbledore the best he could. He did. Written for the Houses Competition round 3: Forgotten Heroes.**

House: Eagles

Class: History of Magic

Category: Standard

Prompt: [Character] Cornelius Fudge

Words: 1116

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**The Cerberus Project**

Cornelius Oswald Fudge was many things but a coward. People thought he was well-meaning, nice but also arrogant and a pushover. Not many people knew, but he really did care for the magical community, a lot. He was sincerely worried when Harry had brought back the body of Cedric Diggory and claimed that You-Know-Who had returned. As soon as Harry had said the words and refused to let go of Diggory's body, Cornelius had known that the boy was telling the truth. Unfortunately for him, he could not publicly accept this young boy's words. He didn't accept because that would lead to an unforeseeable panic, a general decay in shops and financial revenue and people would live in fear while they could be blissfully ignorant. Until it was absolutely necessary, Cornelius Oswald Fudge was not going to make the information public, he was going to protect the wizarding community the best he could, in the utmost secrecy.

As soon as he got back to his office he thought about which of his most trusted aurors would be perfect to handle this job. Mad-eye-Moody would do an amazing job, but people would miss him too as he was quite well-known in the Ministry. From the fairly new recruits, the Head-Auror said that Savage and Proudfoot were very capable, but he wanted people that he knew to be unwavering, people who never doubted their duty. Cornelius needed the ones who were steadfast in their quest for justice and he knew just who to ask.

Natalie Adams, Charles Webster and Lewis Reid entered his house in the middle of the night.

"Why don't we have a seat in the living room," Cornelius suggested.

No answer sounded from any of the three and they silently followed their Minister to the living room. When all three had received tea from the house-elf, Reid was the first one to speak.

"Minister, if I may be blunt," the man with bright blond hair said.

Cornelius motioned Reid to say what he wanted and then took a sip from his tea.

Reid nodded and sat on the edge of his seat. "What do you expect from us? I know that you have chosen us to do something, but I'd rather be told the factual version than the sugar-coated version, sir. If you don't mind," Reid said while pointing at the tea in front of them.

"Yes, I see. This is the most delicate situation you will encounter and before I continue, I want to inform you that you are allowed to decline this project. I know that some of you have spouses children and I wouldn't want to get in the way of that, but the point is this."

Cornelius stopped for a second to look at the eager, wide-awake and bright-minded aurors in front of him. "You-Know-Who has returned." neither of the three faces changed when they heard what he had said, and Cornelius was impressed with how well they maintained their emotions.

"I would like you three, to investigate where he is hiding, go undercover. Do whatever you need to do to take him down. Whatever. I want him destroyed, completely."

The three aurors nodded. "Minister, I accept the task you chose for me," Reid said officially.

"I accept as well," Adams added while putting down her tea.

"I accept the task too," Webster said with honour written all over his face.

"Thank you, Reid, Adams and Webster. For future reference, this project will be known as Cerberus, like the three-headed dog as you are a team of three. Also I want to remind you that you only report to me. That means that no one, including your loved ones, can know of this. In return, I will promise you that whatever happens to any of you and me, I'll make sure that your loved ones know the truth. A letter will be sent to your home when one of you has passed the veil, they can open the blood-seal with a drop of blood."

The aurors all agreed and when all agreements and arrangements were made, they left, leaving Cornelius alone in his house.

The next morning, Cornelius sent an owl to the Daily Prophet with the order of a story that has to entail the disproving of Harry Potter's and Dumbledore's words, to make sure that his aurors could work in the safest environment he could offer. And if that meant losing the image of a well-liked Minister with guts, then that was the price Cornelius had to pay to keep the wizarding world safe.

The following months, more and more stories were published that kept on discrediting Dumbledore and Harry for months, his heart was broken at the loss of his image and Dumbledore's friendship as Dumbledore had chewed him out, claiming that he was blinded by the love of his office, while everything but was true. However, Cornelius knew, one day he was going to tell them how his plan and his aurors had saved them all.

Months had passed when his aurors finally came to him with an elaborate plan of how to get Voldemort to react to a setup. It was a fairly safe and foul proof plan and Cornelius had never hoped to get this far. They had been working around the clock to make sure everything went according to plan, when a mass breakout from Azkaban was reported and Cerberus was too late to execute the plan safely. The death eaters had created a protective barrier around You-Know-Who and it would take months and months of work to figure out how to get everything in place with new and more players in the playing field.

Additionally, when not four weeks after the Azkaban outbreak, The Quibbler posted a detailed interview from Harry Potter, written by Rita Skeeter, Cornelius knew it would become very hard for the plan to succeed. He had accepted his own image to be degraded to lying and vain but now, his whole plan seemed to fail and he had nothing to show for it. Though, he could live with that fact, he could not bear to tell the people his plan had failed and he had exposed them to great danger while doing so.

When the news of a collapsed Millennium Bridge came to Cornelius ears, he knew that he would never be called a hero. Instead, he would be called, like Dumbledore had proclaimed, the one who stepped aside so You-Know-Who could take over.

Whilst walking to the Muggle Prime Minister's office, he felt anger boiling, anger and defeat for he had tried so hard to keep the wizarding world safe, and he had failed miserably.


	7. Never Enough

**Summary: DRABBLE (extended length). For the first time in her life, Rose attends the Hogwarts Battle Remembrance Ball. When she runs into Scorpius Malfoy, her heart skips a beat. A few years ago he had promised her that he would never see her again and disappear out of her life completely. Obviously, he had failed.** **Written for the Houses Competition round 4: BONUS Stage and Screen.**

House: Eagles

Class: History of Magic

Category: Drabble

Prompt: [Song] Never Enough from The Greatest Showman

Words: 1162

* * *

**Never Enough**

The Great Hall had never looked so beautiful. The four long tables were shrunken and put in the corner, music was playing and there seemed to be more the floating candles than ever. It was the first time that Rose was allowed to attend the annual Hogwarts Battle Remembrance Ball. All Hogwarts graduates over the age of 21 were allowed to attend and it had become a grander and grander fest over the years with many important people giving life-changing speeches. The ball was quite public as many photographers were present, snapping a picture of anything that moved. The funny thing was, most journalists were more interested in the youngest Potter and Weasley generation rather than the older one that had actually fought the battle. Albus´ and Rose´s parents were polite to everyone attending the ball, even the Malfoy´s, but neither family knew that Albus, Rose and Scorpius were quite friendly with each other. Whilst Rose was ready to fight for their friendship, Scorpius had insisted they´d keep it a secret because his parents probably wouldn´t approve. Rose had laughed wholeheartedly as she knew her father would get sick at the thought of it, but instead she told him that she was ready to face any challenge head-on. Albus had respected Scorpius´ choice and told him that the truth would come out sooner or later. The relationship between Albus and Scorpius was quite different compared to the relationship between Rose and Scorpius.

Though there was never a big love confession, both of them knew exactly what the other felt. By the way they felt comfortable looking into each other´s eyes without looking away once, like saying what they were feeling with their eyes and being perfectly content. It would always end with both of them smiling and giving each other a long hug if the surroundings allowed it. They hadn´t expressed their feelings with words at any time, not even jokingly, but they always knew.

That changed when they had been on a secret holiday with Albus and his girlfriend Samantha Ryder, a Hufflepuff. Scorpius had told Rose out of the blue that he was betrothed to another girl. He told Rose how much he loved her and promised that after they graduated from Hogwarts, he´d leave her alone for the rest of her life and that was that.

His only fault was that he hadn´t calculated seeing her each year at a ball that they had to attend, and all excuses to decline attendance would never be accepted. So this evening, Rose had tried her best to stay away from Scorpius, knowing all too well that they being in close proximity would get too much attention for comfort.

Even though she was surrounded by her cousins and friends, and her on-and-off again boyfriend, Josh Branson, no conversation interested her enough to listen closely. She looked up at the thousands of floating candles in the Great Hall and smiled, enjoying the memories of her time at Hogwarts that flooded her brain and suddenly she felt someone brush past her.

Scorpius Malfoy stood in front of her and then bowed deeply as an official invitation to dance.

"Might I have this dance?" his velvet voice sounded unwavering. He looked straight into her eyes, not breaking contact once. Rose´s cousins and friends that had surrounded her all looked at him in shock and then back to Rose to see her reply. Rose eyed him in surprise and wasn´t sure if this was a big gesture for friendship or love and decided that regardless, she´d always say yes to him.

She heard Josh muttering something but couldn't hear what he was saying. Then, she smiled broadly and nodded back, like a lady was expected to do, before calmly placing her hand in his waiting hand. As soon as their hands touched, she felt the electricity. How right it felt that he was holding her. Rose tried to think about the consequences whilst he guided her to the centre of the Great Hall, where people were dancing a waltz. She heard people's words echoing and slowly tuned them out and focussed completely on Scorpius.

He placed his hand around her waist and she nodded whilst finally looking back into his eyes. When their eyes met, a sort of calmness coursed through her, like the recognition of their ritual had made her feel calm and yet extremely tensed at the same time. They held each other's gaze like they had done so many times before whilst he led her around the dance area, never missing a step. They moved across the floor and Rose only heard the string quartets, which were playing beautifully. Rose felt like everything else around them faded and like there were a thousand spotlights pointed at them.

His silver-grey eyes looked at her intently and she felt like he could see right into her soul. It felt like they were flying above the ground, powerful, perfectly content, well-balanced, and utterly happy. She slowly began to smile and she saw him smiling as well, until they were both smiling at each other in a dorky way.

It took a while for her to realise that they were standing still again. The spotlights seemed to fade and the echo of people talking was audible again. Rose furrowed her eyebrows, refusing to let this moment be over. He was about to let go, she sensed it and she held his shoulder and hand a little tighter. Her smile faded and she looked determined into his piercing eyes. With her eyes she would tell him that she wouldn't let this go. He could not do this and then leave! This was not enough to last her a whole year of not seeing him, she could not handle that reality. His hold on her waist and hand began to soften and then Rose shook her head, angrily staring into his eyes and holding on tighter. He had to know.

This, dancing once a year at a public ball, would never be enough for Rose. Never.

Somehow, even whilst Rose hadn't said one word, Scorpius knew just by looking into her eyes that this would never be enough for her. Rose stared right back into his eyes, pleading that he made a choice, either be with her forever or leave her alone for the rest of her life. The pair just stood there looking at each other in silence, electricity sparking between them. Whilst Rose waited for him to decide, she realised that he could not make the decision. He would not make the decision. Was it really so hard for him to choose her in a heartbeat? Rose felt the anger of rejection starting to boil in her blood and subsequently released him from her hold. She made the decision for him and turned around quite dramatically, her red curls cutting through the air.

Then, suddenly, she felt a hand wrapping around her arm. "Rose, wait."


	8. The Irresistible Bribe

**Summary: STANDARD: When Hagrid meets up with his best friend from Hogwarts in the Three Broomsticks, he has brought Hagrid a present, he'd never dared to hope. However, nothing comes without a price. ****Written for the Houses Competition round 4: BONUS Stage and Screen.**

House: Eagles

Class: History of Magic

Category: Standard

Prompt: Jurassic Park

Word count: 1544

* * *

**The Irresistible Bribe**

The Three Broomsticks was filled with students and other visitors when Robert Dowell entered the pub. It was as warm and cosy as he'd remembered from when he was here, about seven years ago, but the mirror behind the bar was still there, even though some of the chairs had been replaced with new ones. The bartender, Robert had forgotten her name, had aged well and smiled kindly at him when he looked her way. Whilst he walked up to the bar to order a butterbeer, he looked around to see if he already saw the friend he was supposed to meet and made sure his bag stayed secure and unharmed when moving through the crowd. Technically, his friend was his best friend, who went by the name of Rubeus Hagrid. They'd rarely met up, but when they did, they always exchanged stories about the latest creatures they'd encountered.

Robert was, like Rubeus, a simple man. He was a half-blood wizard and a Gryffindor just like Rubeus was. They had met in their second year, when Robert transferred from Ilvermorny to Hogwarts, and even though many in the class disliked the half-giant named Rubeus Hagrid, Robert was instantly drawn to his warm personality and overlapping interest in magical creatures. Soon, they became best friends and explored the Forbidden Forest, in search for the variety of creatures they could find. Both young wizards got into a lot of trouble during their years alone and together, but Robert was one of the few believing that Rubeus' Acromantula Aragog was not the one to blame for the mishaps around the unfortunate death of Myrtle Warren's death. Once, they'd even received a month's worth of detention when the Professors had found out that they had tried to raise werewolf cubs under their four poster beds and to the friends it had been worth it. Additionally, Robert was one of the few that actually called Rubeus by his first name. Whilst Rubeus preferred that everyone called him Hagrid, Robert called him Rubeus since day one and it became their thing, Bob and Rubeus.

Upon Rubeus' expulsion, Robert had to finish Hogwarts all alone, whilst Rubeus had moved around to observe creatures and secretly continuing to learn the spells.

When Robert had finished Hogwarts without Hagrid, he pursued a muggle biology degree and zoo keeping, finding some of the muggle creatures just as interesting as the magical ones. Ultimately he tried to figure out if he could create a half breed between muggle and magical species which had been a dream for both Rubeus and Robert. That was precisely the reason why Robert knew that the presents in his bag would be very safe with Rubeus.

Then, Robert finally caught a glimpse of a gigantic man, sitting in the far back in a private booth, eagerly watching the door. Robert rushed to the half-giant, not able to suppress his enthusiasm any further and forgetting his butterbeer.

"Rubeus," Robert said smiling broadly.

"Bob, how're yeh doin'?" Rubeus asked, patting his best friend's shoulder in a manly way, which still hurt after all these years.

"To be perfectly honest, I'm in trouble. I have done something in the Muggle world…" Robert shivered and took out his wand to cast a soundproofing spell around them before continuing, "Anyways, I have a surprise for you. It's a muggle animal that has been extinct for millions of years. They're actually the non-magical cousins of our dragons."

Rubeus' eyes went wide when he saw Robert taking four small eggs out of his bag.

"Rubeus, meet your very own dinosaurs. This particular species is a triceratops. Literally translated from Greek is Three-Horned Face. They're herbivores and quite friendly."

Rubeus reached out to softly touch the eggs that were big enough to fit in the palm of his hand. "How long until they hatch?"

"You'll have to warm it up for about three hours, I guess, medium heat, so not in direct flame distance. The dinosaur itself will be friendly and emotionally bind themselves to their mother, which will be you. In the meantime, feed them green vegetables, and green leaves. When they are older you can let them eat anything they want to eat. Usually the triceratops will be about your height and three times your weight."

Rubeus eyes looked like he'd seen water burning and then Rubeus realised something. "But how did yeh get them then?"

Robert smiled again and knew it was time to tell the story.

"I'll tell you. Three years ago I moved to Tasmania to search for the genetic similarities and differences in the DNA of the Tasmanian Devil, the Thestrals and the Common Bat. There, I ran into a geneticist named Dr. Henry Wu who offered me a job as a biologic engineer for an investor named John Hammond. They'd discovered the dinosaur DNA in amber-encapsulated mosquitoes and filled out the gaps of the DNA with that of the Common Reed Frog."

"But how did yeh get the eggs from the investor?"

"Well…"

Robert thought back of how he obtained the eggs on the other side of the planet, on Isla Nublar. It was the middle of the night when Robert had decided to prepare the eggs and steal the embryonic DNA with the gaps in it. He had planned to fill in the gaps of the DNA with Thestral DNA and with so much enthusiasm and anticipation, he could hardly wait to show Rubeus.

Everything went smoothly until he heard the door of the laboratory open. "Robert? What are you doing here at this hour?" Dr. Wu asked his assistant.

Robert fake-yawned and scratched the back of his neck heedlessly.

"Couldn't sleep. So I wanted to make sure that everything was working properly again," Robert gestured to the hatching machine that was turning eggs.

Dr. Wu found this reply an odd one. Dr. Wu knew everything that went on in his lab and a malfunctioning egg turner was not one of the things he remembered. Whilst looking at the hatchlings, Dr. Wu realised that there actually were eggs in the incubator. Last night when he'd went to bed, no hatchlings were in the incubator as there was a temporary stop of 24 hours to run extra tests and optimisation programs. Incredulous, he walked over the incubator and inspected the eggs were signed with ink letters: TCT, short for triceratops. This puzzled Dr. Wu even more, because he had clearly instructed every one of his staff never to write on the eggs, but mark them with a sign or sticker.

Dr. Wu had seen enough and turned back to Robert and curiously observed him. "What is the meaning of this, Robert?" Dr. Wu demanded.

Robert looked at him and took a wooden stick out of the back of his trousers. "I'm a wizard, Henry. I am taking some eggs to investigate their characteristics in a different environment."

"You can't do that! They need to be in a controlled environment! Are you crazy?"

"No, I'm not and neither are you. Listen, I'm just interested in crossbreeding them with a certain magical creature. And with the skills I obtained here, I think I can make it work."

"You have no guarantee that they won't attack you! It's dangerous!"

"I can manage, but thanks for your concern, Henry."

Robert's voice had sounded so dismissive that Dr. Wu had made up his mind. Dr. Wu felt a jolt of incredulousness and anger course through him with the injustice of it all.

Dr. Wu stepped forward and prepared himself to call the alarm code. "I am contractually obliged to stop you from taking these dinosaurs."

Robert shook his head at his boss, "Please, don't make me hurt you, Henry. What if I promise to keep you updated when I have the first results, hmm?"

Robert really didn't want to use his magic, but if he had to, he'd certainly would.

Contrary to Robert's expectations, Dr. Wu didn't budge. Apparently Dr. Wu had more principles than Robert had given him credit for.

"No," Dr. Wu said, his voice sounding unwavering, "Put down the vial of embryonic DNA."

Now it was Robert's turn to reply resolutely, "No. Henry, I do apologise, but I have to do this."

Robert pointed his wand to Dr. Wu to freeze him until he was done, and then softly murmured the incantation for the amnesia spell.

When Robert was finished talking, Rubeus couldn't believe his ears. "Blimey, Bob. I don't think the Ministry is goin' be too happy when they find out what yeh did."

"I know, Rubeus, but I need to store this vial somewhere safe while I try and collect the Thestral DNA and Hogwarts is one of the safest places in the world. The eggs are just a bribe."

Rubeus looked into the Bob's eyes which were filled with desire to know more and research the possibilities. So slowly, Rubeus nodded, his best friend had always been honest with him.

For once, Rubeus Hagrid felt like he was a young schoolboy, back together with his best friend in their dormitory.

"Just this once, for ol' time sake."

"You're the best, Rubeus."

"Yeah, yeah. Now, off with yeh, I have some eggs I need to take care off."


	9. A Simple Confundus Charm

**Summary: DRABBLE. Like his father had always wanted, Theodore Nott is going to marry a pure-blood witch, Daphne Greengrass. What his father doesn't know, is that Daphne in is on the scheme and that Theo is going to divorce Daphne and then marry the love of his life. Because she is worth it. And Daphne is awesome. Written for the Houses Competition round 5: Love and Loss.**

House: Eagles

Class: History of Magic

Category: Drabble

Prompt: Antique Ring

Words: 996 (AN: 15)

* * *

**A Simple Confundus Charm**

Theodore Nott was a simple man. He always had been. He didn't like to lie and if he had to, he would first try and remain silent if the circumstances allowed it. However, in a situation where both of his parents were staring at him, waiting expectantly for him to answer, it would not be possible to remain silent. His mother pursed her lips, like she did often when she was impatient. Her back was stretched as she sat on the edge of her seat. His father was, like always, unreadable. Still, Theo knew his father well enough to know that he was also curious about Theo's news. To be honest, his father was only interested in one part of Theo's news, one particular part that could get Theo into big trouble if his plan would fail. He looked at his mother once again who silently urged him to answer his father's question. Then, because Theo still hadn't answered, Theo's father had enough.

"Answer me, Theo."

Theo suppressed the urge to smile melancholically. "My apologies, Father. I was somewhere else with my thoughts."

"Do you love her?" his mother asked smiling proudly.

Theo felt the warmth of the memories of his fiancée-to-be flood his mind, and he smiled.

"I do, Mother. Wholeheartedly."

"Is. She. A. Pure-blood?" Theo's father demanded angrily.

Theo turned to his father and nodded. "You know her mother, it's Daphne Greengrass."

His mother exclaimed a happy scream, which was totally inappropriate, but Theo's father had already returned to reading the Daily Prophet. His mother however, raised herself from her seat and pulled Theo into a loving embrace.

"Muffin, please collect the ring. It is time."

The house-elf that had appeared, nodded and disapparated with a loud bang.

Theo's mother placed the old golden box into Theo's hands. Theo inspected the small rectangular box and notices it had colourless stones on it. The stones even glistened bright in the dimmed light of his parents' living room, when he realised that they were diamonds. A goblin-made ring box with diamonds on it.

"Open it," Theo's mother said enthusiastically.

Theo opened the box. The antique ring was the purest white-gold Theo had ever seen and quite delicate to his surprise. Drawing the most attention was an emerald, as pure as could be. Brightly shining, but not in a boasting manner. The emerald was present but in a beautifully modest way. He was going to give the ring to the one he loved. She was going to wear it one day and he was going to make it happen. While walking to his room, he kept on replaying the memory in his head of him overhearing his parents' discussion.

_"If she is not, he will never see it, and he will be disinherited." Mr Nott's voice sounded cold._

_"But if he loves her…" Mrs Nott tried._

_"I said no."_

Since that conversation, Theo had been researching for months. He remembered it well when he'd asked his best friend's mother about the ring. Mrs Zabini had been quite helpful in the last part of his journey. Theo finally knew how the box and especially the ring's magic worked which would allow him to marry him the one he loves.

_"Listen honey, here's the thing. Your father will not allow the box and ring to be given to you if she is not worthy. The wearer-to-be must be worthy to the terms set by the owner, so in your father's case, she must be a pure-blood. Simply said, the box with the ring will only be given to you if you intend to marry a pure-blood witch. The set of the box and ring is goblin-made and will not open if you do not intend to marry a pure-blood."_

_"What if I want to marry someone who is not a pure-blood?"_

_Mrs Zabini had to think about it for a while, accioed a worn-out book from her library, read a paragraph and nodded, "I presume that you can marry a pure-blood witch, which would make you the next Lord Nott. By then the ring is your possession and consequently you can set the limits for the box to open. You can divorce the pure-blood witch as soon as you wish and offer the ring to the one you love. Still, you would have to check for curses that prevent you from marrying someone not worthy."_

_"That is what I thought indeed," Theo replied thinking and nodding at Mrs Zabini's words._

_"But you have triggered my interest, what is so special about this ring?" Mrs Zabini asked interested._

_"I want the love of my life to be in my family-line tapestry. She deserves everything that I will inherit one day. She has to be part of it. We have fought too hard at Hogwarts against blood supremacy to undo everything now. She will be my wife one day, and she will become the first half-blood Lady Nott. And she'll do splendidly."_

_Theo grinned, knowing he was finally there. "My father did but barrier charms and curses on all the charms placed on the box and especially the ring, but he forgot to put up a protective spell against the Confundus Charm. It is so simple that he forgot. I didn't even think of it, if not for…" Theo fell silent, thinking of the love of his life._

_"Impossible," Mrs Zabini shook her head, not believing Mr Nott could be so stupid._

_"I have checked it many times."_

_"I wish you good luck, honey."_

_"Thank you, Mrs Zabini."_

"Theo?" His mother's voice pulled him out of his memories.

"Yes, Mother?"

"Who are you going to marry?"

Theo looked at his mother and smiled, she was too smart not to know. "Lisa. Lisa Turpin. She saved me from cursing my fellow classmates with detention from the Carrows many times."

"I'd love to meet her."

"You will. Soon," he promised while holding on to the ring box even tighter.


	10. An Amorous Affair

**Summary: ONE-SHOT. Colleagues Draco and Hermione take a break from their work, but the situation nearly becomes unmanageable for Draco when Hermione has finished her tea. Written for the Houses Competition round 5: Love and Loss.**

House: Eagles

Class: History of Magic

Category: Standard

Prompt: Love Potion

Words: 1359 (A/N: 30)

A/N: Based on the Love Potion prompt of the modern-type-writer on Tumblr. Slight OOC Draco.

* * *

**An Amorous Affair **

"I think it is time for a break. What will you have, Granger?" Draco Malfoy asked while raising from his chair across from her desk.

"Tea, please," she replied instantly without looking up from her paperwork and writing.

Draco suppressed the urge to laugh, Hermione Granger truly was predictable. For the past few weeks when they'd been working together, she had always drunk tea whenever they took a break. Draco walked to the kitchen to prepare her tea just the way she liked it.

Hermione was employed at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries and Head-Healer of the emergency department. Hermione had finished her Healer studies together with a muggle Medical Doctor studies and was in emergency situations always the first Healer on call.

Draco worked for the biggest potion-developing company known to mankind as potioneer. The company, called Medicamentum Incorporations, was responsible for the production and delivery of all the healing potions to St. Mungo's.

After the Second Wizarding War, Draco had to be judged for his involvement in the war by the full Wizengamot. When the Wizengamot invited the Golden Trio to see Draco's trial and his memories of specific events, the Golden Trio were since then convinced of Draco's innocence. Not a minute after being found 'not guilty to war crimes' by the Wizengamot, Draco Malfoy had walked up to the Golden Trio and apologised and they had become friendly toward one another.

Not long after that day, Draco had put all his time into developing a better Wolfsbane potion. It had taken him nine full months, but he had succeeded and he got hired by Medicamentum Incorporation immediately after. Then, Draco had personally made it happen that Wolfsbane Potions became available to the whole wizarding world and it became apparent that his motivation was his mother, who was bitten by Fenrir Greyback just before the war had ended in an attempt to make Narcissa his mate.

While he had been friendly with all three of the Golden Trio, he had become more and more aware of Granger's greatness when they started working together. Just two days after they'd started their meetings, Draco had been early, walking into the department and heard her yelling to someone with so much passion that he felt the emotion all the way through to his core. It was then, that he knew. Granger was never going to care enough about him to yell at him like that. Shaking the thought off of him, he grabbed the two cups of tea and walked back into her office.

"Here's your tea, Granger," Draco put down a cup of tea in front of her and placed his own on her desk as well.

"Thanks, Malfoy," she replied, finally looking up from her paperwork and putting down her quill.

He looked at her and found her looking straight into his eyes. They remained silent for what seemed like minutes and suddenly he felt really self-conscious. Was it finally going to work? He knew that while she couldn't have known about any of it, he still felt like she knew exactly what he was doing, and had been doing for the past few weeks.

He watched her smile kindly at him and slowly moving her hand towards her cup of tea. He couldn't help but follow her hand and bringing the cup to her lips. Just as Draco expected her to take a sip, she inhaled the aroma that was coming off of the cup and put it back down. Draco's heart started to beat faster and faster. Did she smell it? Draco had asked many of his fellow potioneers and none of them could smell the potion that was in her tea, so why did she just smell her tea and then decide not to drink it? Did Granger have some sort of super-smell? Was she going to question him? Or bring legal charges against him for whatever she could if she found out?

Then he saw the steam coming off of her cup and he realised that the tea was still too hot to drink, that that was the reason she didn't drink the tea. Feeling like he dodged a nasty Bat-Bogey Hex, he sighed loud and leaned back into his chair. They remained silent for a few more minutes and when her hand moved towards the cup again, Draco held his breath. Excruciatingly slow, like she did it to annoy him, she brought the cup to her lips and took a tiny sip. He followed her example, just to avoid making things awkward, but the truth of the matter was that he hadn't been able to eat and drink properly for weeks. He downed his tea in one go, hoping it would inspire Granger to do the same.

When she finally did, he waited for a change in her behaviour all the while trying to act patient before continuing with their work. The problem was, it didn't. Her behaviour didn't change at all. She was just as friendly and as focussed as before.

Sighing again, Draco picked up the paperwork and continued with the list of antidotes.

They had been working until a little after eight and when the thunder struck, Draco decided to make his leave. "I should get home soon. I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked before filing a few files away and leaving his bag in the corner of her office.

"I'll be here," Granger replied.

Just when Draco wanted to leave her office, he saw her put something in her mouth.

He stared at her, his mouth agape, not believing what he had seen.

"What was that?" Draco asked, trying to act nonchalant.

"Oh, it's a Wiggentree twig crisp. It's quite nice. Do you want one?"

"Why are you- I mean- since when are these on the market?"

"George and Ron developed it. It protects the eater from the effects of various potions invented by Laverne, and apparently makes your hair shine without it looking greasy."

Draco swallowed slowly. When he finally found his voice, it sounded a few octaves higher than normal.

"Who?"

"Laverne de Montmorency, she was a Ravenclaw, quite famous? I should think you knew who she is, as a potioneer."

"I think I forgot, heh," Draco smiled awkwardly and felt the room get hotter and hotter.

His clothes were suddenly too tight and he loosened his tie and robes.

"I can't be the only one who knows that she invented the love potion!"

"Oh, now I remember!" Draco replied, trying to make his way out the door but somehow his legs weren't functioning.

She kept on staring at him, like she was expecting him to say something and as a last hope, Draco decided to give it one more go at finishing this conversation that got more awkward with each second that passed.

"So why are you taking it? Your hair is gorgeous," Draco gulped.

She smiled broadly again and shook her head at him. "Because someone has been spiking my tea with love potion."

Her smile had faded and now she stared right into his eyes. Her eyes were determined, calculating, and if Draco hadn't been impressed by Granger before this, he would certainly be now.

"Really? How unfortunate," Draco squeaked and coughed immediately afterwards.

Sweat was now present on his forehead and he thought he was going to pass out from overheating due to the stress he was under.

Hermione turned around and stared out her window. "You made me love you."

Draco forgot how to breathe. He just blinked, looked at her teacup and then back to her.

"I've known for weeks," Granger continued, almost heedlessly so. "It was obvious. Too sweet in the tea."

Draco blinked, and answered before he could stop himself, "You're still drinking it."

Hermione nodded and shrugged. "I wanted to see what you would do. I waited for a long time."

Draco swallowed. He hadn't done anything, hadn't given her any sign aside from giving her the tea. Maybe that was the most vexing thing of all. After all this time, he was still a coward. A coward with a crush.


	11. A Halloween Friendship Story

**Summary: DRABBLE. When Hermione visits Harry to ask him about his will, she finds him too busy to speak to her and she realises again that some things are more important than laws and paperwork. Written for the Houses Competition round 6: Evil Conquers the World.**

House: Eagles

Class: History of Magic

Category: Drabble

Prompt: [Action] Carving pumpkins

Words: 602

* * *

**A Halloween Friendship Story**

Hermione had been searching Harry's house in whole for Harry. When she finally found him in the garden shed, she saw him rummaging through some drawers of a heavily damaged cupboard. The cupboard was white at the parts that were still a little bit intact but at most places the white paint had fallen off. It was then that Harry's searching came to an end when he lifted a big knife and closed the drawers with much effort. He turned around and saw Hermione stand in the door opening. "Hermione! Did you come here to help?" Harry asked delighted.

"No, I'm sorry, Harry. But I've been so busy with the Ministry's regulations and…" the rest of the words seemed to get lost.

"That's alright, Hermione. But what did you come for then?" Harry asked while motioning Hermione to follow him to the scullery inside the main house.

"I've been wanting to speak to you. It's about that will of yours."

Harry sighed and sat down in front of the thirty something pumpkins that stood on the table. "Hermione, I really don't have the time, right now. I'm sorry but the pumpkins need to be in St, Mungo's before tomorrow and I only have tonight to finish them."

"And you don't want to use magic to carve them," Hermione stated as it was not a question.

"No. No magic."

Hermione looked at the table filled with pumpkins, closed her eyes and then drew a deep breath in.

"Fine, I'll call in some re-enforcements and put on a kettle or five."

Harry smiled at his best friend and went back into his shed in search for more carving knives.

Not thirty minutes later, the scullery was filled with friends carving pumpkins for the children in St. Mungo's to celebrate Halloween.

Neville and Hannah, Ginny and Blaise, Theo and Lisa, Ron and Lavender, George and Angelina and for Harry, Luna.

Hermione was making a second cup of tea for everyone in the kitchen when the fireplace went off another time. Inside stepped a panting Draco Malfoy looking all sweaty and hurries.

"Am I too late?" he asked Hermione while shaking Harry's hand and slapping Theo and Blaise's shoulders.

Luna shook her head and lifted a pumpkin to put it right into his hands.

"We've left the best one for you, Draco."

Draco blinked and smiled broadly at her.

"Thank you," he said simply.

When everyone was busy chatting and carving, Hermione placed her hands on Draco's shoulders. "I thought you wouldn't be able to make it," she whispered in his ear.

"When I got your owl, I knew Potter was feeling down, so I just told everyone to postpone the meeting. We should be there for our friends. "

Hermione sent him a warm smile before placing a kiss on the top of his head and accioing her carved pumpkin.

"So, what do you think?"

"It's a little deformed," Draco replied honestly.

"What?! I tried to make it look like you!" Hermione said while acting indignant.

"Mione, for future reference, don't try to make me with any art, please. My self-esteem can't handle it," he joked.

"For as long as I can remember, Draco, there was never anything wrong with your self-esteem," Blaise said laughing.

The whole group laughed and with a side-glance in Harry's way, she saw him enjoy himself. Even though none of his friends could fill the void of his parents, they could make a difference for the children in St. Mungo's with the carved pumpkins and that mattered to Harry, so it mattered to all of them.


	12. The One Without Detention

**Summary: ONE-SHOT. James has asked Sirius to help him break the rules for a very important plan. This is the only time the Professors let it happen without giving detention. Written for the Houses Competition round 6: Evil Conquers the World.**

House: Eagles

Class: History of Magic

Category: Standard

Prompt: [Romantic Pairing] Lily Evans / James Potter

Word count: 1352

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**The One Without Detention**

"Prongs, wait," Sirius stopped and grabbed James by his robed to hide behind a statue for the patrolling Professor.

They waited in silence until the danger of getting caught was over and then James shook his head. "Moony really needs to give me back my cloak as soon as possible."

Sirius laughed, "You know he will keep on using the werewolf excuse until you call him out on it, right?"

"It's alright," James answered when he saw that the coast was clear to leave their hiding place.

James motioned Sirius to follow him into the Great Hall and pointed at the ceiling.

Sirius looked up too and frowned. "Are you sure it will work?" Sirius wondered while looking up at the floating candles.

"It will work. You just have to amplify my transfiguration charm big enough to break the defence shields of the ceiling."

"Okay. Say when," Sirius replied while pointing his wand at James' wand.

Just when James wanted to say the incantation, Sirius stopped him.

"Wait, you have to tell me why we are breaking the rules before we do it."

James gave Sirius a look to see if he was serious, and he was. Sirius then smirked because he knew James was going to tell him because James needed his help. James debated whether or not to tell him when Sirius continued, "Not that it is going to stop us, but at least I'll have all the facts clear."

Now it was James' time to smirk.

"Alright, you're on. However, you have to promise not to stop me."

Sirius' smug face nodded slowly, 'I sincerely promise to help you with every rule you break."

Feeling relieved, James nodded as the answer was good enough.

"Well- I uhh- I'm going to ask Lily to marry my."

"Uhuh, and?" Sirius asked.

James was a little taken aback by Sirius' lack of surprise and then he realised that Sirius, and probably Remus knew him better than anyone else and that's why Sirius at least already knew that he was going to propose.

Or… they'd been going through his things and found the ring. Which seemed to be getting a likelier possibility with every second that passed. James observed Sirius' stance closely and then caught on the fact that Sirius had found the ring, otherwise Sirius wouldn't be here with him.

"You bastard! You've been going through my things!" James said disgruntled.

Sirius on the other hand didn't seem to be bothered by James' mood at all, just smiled smugly at his best friend and grinned. "If course I have."

James shook his head and bumped Sirius' shoulder roughly. "I'll get you for this."

Again, Sirius smirked. "Ready, Prongs?"

"Ready, Padfoot."

James took a big breath in to calm his nerves and focussed on the spell he needed to perform. He pointed his wand at the ceiling and spoke the incantation. Sirius followed with an amplifying spell and while James recast the charm over and over again, Sirius wand began to shake.

"I've got a feeling that it will break soon. The wards," Sirius clarified.

James nodded and turned to his best friend shortly, "When I've got it, you need to hide somewhere so you won't get caught."

Sirius started to shake his head, no but James was adamant. "Padfoot, please. I need you to be at my wedding if she says yes."

"Of course she'll say yes!" Sirius replied instantly.

Then, a loud crack sounded and James motioned Sirius to hide while pointing his wand at the floating candles to make them move in a specific shape. Slowly but surely the candles seemed to move and letters started to form. Sirius was safely hidden behind a statue outside the Great Hall when Peeves entered the Great Hall. Peeves started shouting uncontrollably, "Headmaster! Headmaster! Student out of bed! They are breaking the wards! Headmaster! The ceiling is being attacked!"

James just smiled and finished the words with much effort. When he turned to Peeves, he knew that Peeves was going to help him, after all, Peeves owed it to James, but that was a story for another time. "Peeves, I would like to ask you to wake everyone in the castle and make sure that they get down here. You know how important it is to have a good audience."

This seemed to amaze Peeves but after short consideration, Peeves knew that the Potter kid would probably get expelled for this stunt, even though it was his last year. Additionally, it would be the ultimate humiliation and there was nothing that Peeves liked more as Peeves was familiar with expulsion.

Peeves rushed away, making sure that everyone heard him, banging on pipes and armoured suits. "Wakey, wakey everyone! Someone is going to get expelled! Get down to the Great Hall immediately to see it happen first-hand!"

It took about two minutes for the first professors to arrive. First Professor McGonagall and then Professor Dumbledore. Contrary to James' expectations, Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore didn't seem angry, instead, both seemed quite amused with the ceiling and the atmosphere.

"You have done very well, Mr Potter. How did you manage all by yourself?" Professor Dumbledore asked intrigued.

"Well, you see, Professor. I just wanted it so badly, that I somehow managed! I wanted to create a warm big gesture, one that would never make her forget."

James smiled at the Headmaster and saw that Professor McGonagall was giving him a look that called his lies, but she remained silent next to Professor Dumbledore.

They waited in silence for the whole school to arrive and James felt his heart beat in his throat.

A big group of students dressed in pyjamas stood still at the entrance of the Great Hall, looking up in awe to the gorgeous night sky with the letters, 'Will you marry me, Lily Evans?' spelled out in floating candles.

The ones that didn't look up immediately whispered something among the lines of: "Is James Potter really going to get expelled?"

"Surely he won't be, expelled. He is a good student when he comes to class, most of the time-"

"OUT OF MY WAY!" the honey-sweet voice of Lily Evans sounded and broke the group of staring people apart.

"James Potter! You are not going to leave me here by getting expelled, do you hear me?" Lily shouted whilst storming forward to a smiling James. When she realised that Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall were both smiling at her, she stopped. She watched what James, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were now doing, which was looking up. She followed their example and read the words over and over again.

Then everyone became quiet and the lights seemed to get lower. She looked at James and saw him slowly kneel down to one leg. Her mouth fell open and she pressed her hands against her cheeks.

"What are you-"

"Shh Evans, you need to let him say this," Sirius whispered behind Lily.

James cleared his throat and took her hands in his.

"Lily Evans. From the moment I met you, I knew you were special. I knew you would mean the world to me one day. This is the day that I am going to tell you that that will never change. You are everything to me, and I would be so immensely honoured if you would become my wife and be with me for the rest of my life."

Lily blinked. James took out a small box and opened it strategically slow.

She hardly gave the ring a second look but instead she penetrated his eyes with hers, like asking if he was going crazy. Instead, James smiled, filled with hope and love that radiated from the way he looked at her. "Lily Evans, will you marry me?"

The Great Hall had never been so quiet with so many people before and the tension was palpable but Lily seemed immune. She was only looking at the love of her life, the one that had made her so happy with his crazy stunts and unconditional love that she couldn't stop herself.

"Yes."


End file.
